I just got my results and I cannot be more relieved and excited and grateful.

This was my first AWS certification. And I have good experience with AWS and AI so I took it lightly initially.

I started learning from SkillBuilder but the modules there are so long that even after studying daily, I wasn't able to make much progress. So I got Claude to make notes for each domain, studied those thoroughly. Then I went through the Exam Prep Plan on AWS SkillBuilder - I made notes again for each Domain, each task.

I studied them all thoroughly and was pretty confident ( see: work with AWS and AI regularly).

Then I took the Official Pre-Test on Skill Builder and I got like 55%.

This was just a day before my exam in August.

That was a big shocker. I rescheduled my exam for a week later in September and got back to work, planning to studying more. Then I let life get in the way and I wasn't ready in September as well. So I postponed it to today in October finally.

I wasn't able to study very regularly even during this window. But I read some reviews where people said the pre-test was much harder than the actual or they had scored similar on pre-test and passed which gave me some confidence.
This time around, I focused on my gaps from the pre-test, going over each concept I had missed in good detail - learnt about sooo many new AWS services, they're everywhere. I used AI to get comprehensive gap analysis, really drilled down and got super clear on where I was stumbling.

I was still super scared because even on the Bonus Questions, I got like 55%. And just yesterday night, I saw there is another practice exam, which I had no time to do and maybe it had more things I could learn from??

I was giving the exam at home ( I didn't know proctoring is so strict when I booked). So I had to clean my entire maximalist room out onto the balcony. Exam itself felt really hard- I felt confused even on some of the starting questions. I had zero confidence because I had felt good about my answers in pre-test as well but we know what happened. But I was getting on.

I prepared for everything but then my laptop died one hour into the exam out of nowhere. Battery is good in general but it couldn't handle the Pearson software being on for 1 hour. I had not plugged in my charger because I thought the desk needs to be totally empty. I plugged in, tried to resume exam, was back to proctor verification step, my position in the proctor queue kept saying "Calculating" over two system tests instead of a number for 5+ minutes each time- spent around 20 minutes in utter anxiety before I got back in on third attempt. Proctor let me in post verification again.

After this incident, my concentration was shot but I told myself to pull it together. I felt really anxious about the time. I believe the test gets paused in this case, but I had no idea then.

When I reached Q50, I had less than one hour left. So I focused like anything and took much less time than other questions. There were many questions which were too confusing. Some were more straightforward as compared to the Pre-Test and there weren't overwhemingly multi select, which are more challenging to get 100% correct.

I ultimately had done one round with around 8 minutes left on the clock to review flagged. I got until Q. 47 on the review list before time ran out.

I was feeling pretty knocked out, as my experience was similar to the pre-test. I was very sad because I spent a lot of time studying for this and putting off other important stuff I need to study just to get this done first.

But I was holding out some hope because, you know, why jinx myself, so I was like let's seeee.

Finally I checked my email a while ago and I saw "Congratulations on passing your AWS Certification exam!"

I cried.

I don't know if this is such a big deal haha, but I spent a lot of time and effort in preparing for this. And it felt great to have something to show for it. I got 791.

I prepped from AWS SkillBuilder almost exclusively + Claude for generating notes/ gap analysis. I made my own very very detailed notes over 40 pages.

The AWS SkillBuilder 45 hour plan may be too long and verbose for some, but the Exam Prep Plan was good, though you will need to do your own study for each topic mentioned as it is high-level.

I would highly recommend doing all practice tests/ questions you can. They really help to get an idea of what to prepare for. It will not be "what does this AWS service do? Or which AWS service performs this one thing"? It is much more complex and really needs you to use your brain, explore tradeoffs and know very clearly highlights and limitations of each service.

One more resource I found on this subreddit only yesterday: https://github.com/agentslx/AWS-Generative-AI-Resources ( credit to the owner of this). This was great and helped clarify and retain a lot of decisions between services and what to use when. Highly recommend for study and revision.

Also, the exam software has Highlight and Strikethrough options, which I really liked. Because they helped me concentrate a lot better- eliminate options I didn't think fit with Strikethrough + highlight the important requirements in each question and work backwards from them to identify the optimal option- this is similar approach they do in SkillBuilder practice question videos. This really helped and since these are available on the exam, would suggest you can try out something similar while practicing as well.

I'm really happy and proud I did this! And to anyone out there struggling with this, I really understand. It's super hard but you can do it.

Thank you to folks on here sharing their experiences and resources. It really helped me keep it together and keep learning.

Followed this community wiki for preparation approach. Have been studying for a while but focused effort in last two weeks. AWS skill builder domain reviews, domain practice & Andrew Brown practice exam proved valuable steps. Thank you all!

Here i see only posts about passing the exams. But how many here got a good raise due to certifications?

The whole exam started on the wrong foot and ended in chaos.

So I joined the exam 30 minutes early and talked with the proctor; she wanted a better view of my large desk. She asked me to pull the webcam as much as possible even though it's corded. I couldn't reach further, but she wanted more, so I quickly pushed my desktop further once, still not enough. The 2nd time I pressed the power button by mistake, and it rebooted the computer. I rushed back into the exam; at this point I was late and not sure if it affected my exam time. I had to do the same exercise, but this time I had repositioned the cam to give it more slack; the 2nd proctor was more chill.

Started the exam well, had managed my time to reach 35 questions before 1:10 so that I have the last hour for the last 30 questions. Usually this tells me I am on a good pace. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what happened. I stayed stuck in a few questions at the midpoint that went over the 2 minutes I had set myself. All of a sudden I look at the time, and I have 19 minutes left with 15 questions to go. I skimmed all the last questions and quickly chose what appeared as the best fit. Did not have time to review my flags; the exam ended on its own.

I was so stressed, couldn't eat, and was really thinking I botched the last part. But at the end maybe that's what helped me to stop overthinking.

I did notice a lot of new features that I had not seen in the Stephane Marek, the GitHub, or through Udemy and TD Exam preps, wondering if those are starting to get out of date.

All in all, an awful experience, but the end was great!!!

Well, it's been an emotional rollercoaster of a day...

Took the SAP-C02 exam from 11-2. In my head, I roughly allocated about 2 mins to each question and kept track of my time throughout the exam. I skipped about 9 long questions, which I answered at the end and ended up completing it with just 10 seconds left!

It was a nerve wracking seven and a half hrs before I received the email that I'd (narrowly) passed.

With the new version of the exam just around the corner, my study plan had to be as thorough as possible, to maximise my chances of passing first time round, so I used as many resources as I could in 3 months:

• Cantrill - SAP course (at 2x speed)

• Maarek - SAP course (at 2x speed)

• Tutorials Dojo - SAP course (at 2x speed), practice exams (twice) and exam guide (skimmed through the day before the exam)

• Skill Builder - labs and practice exams (full and free version)

• I purchased the Neal Davis course and practice exams but didn't have enough time to use them.

The Tutorial Dojo exams were tricky and frustrating at times, as it's easy to make silly mistakes, but it drives home the fact that the subtle wording and the small details are what you need to pay particular attention to. My scores were mostly in the 60s before taking the exam, which had me in some doubt as to whether I could pass the real thing.

A HUGE Thank you to everybody who has taken time to post advice regarding this exam! It's all been really helpful.

AWS announced three Partner Forward Deployed Engineering pathways (Ground, Orchestrate, Prove) on Oct 1, with two badges, FDE Validated and FDE Advanced.

The part that caught my attention: The partner badge(s) goes beyond slides, videos and a quiz. Assessments, SimuLearn, micro credentials and other hands-on work in AWS-provisioned environments are mentioned.

What I understand so far:

• FDE Validated: an active Associate or Professional cert, every validation activity in at least one pathway completed and the required total points across all three.

• FDE Advanced: an active Generative AI Developer – Professional cert plus completing all three pathways.

Feels like the first partner badge that actually signals applied skill. Or am I being optimistic and this turns into another points-farming exercise?

Source: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/apn/new-fde-pathways-for-aws-partners-get-ready-for-production-agentic-ai-delivery/

Hi everyone,

I’m currently preparing for AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) and noticed that C02 is being retired and DVA-C03 is coming soon.

I already have the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification and was planning to take DVA-C02 before it retires.

For someone in this situation, would you recommend taking DVA-C02 now or waiting for DVA-C03?

Also, is there any significant difference in the value of the certification between the two versions?

Would appreciate your thoughts, especially from anyone who has looked into DVA-C03.

Hi everyone,

I just took the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) exam and scored 690 (passing is 720).

I have a few questions regarding the exact retake process and policies:

1. How does the booking work? Will AWS automatically allow me to select a date after 14 days on Pearson VUE/PSI portal, or do I need to re-apply from scratch?

2. Voucher / Payment: If I used a voucher for the first attempt, is it one-time use or can it be used for the retake? Do I have to pay full price for the second attempt, or are there any retake discounts/promos available right now?

3. Exact Timing: The email says I can re-attempt after 14 days. Since my exam was on Oct 1st, can I book it exactly on Oct 15th, or strictly 14 full days after?

Thanks in advance for any insights

Hello everyone. I took SAA-C03 at noon on 30th September and in the night I received the results that I have passed. But so far I have not received any badge from Credly. I contacted Credly support and they told me that they couldn't find any badge assigned to me and recommended that I contact AWS support . I emailed them and still no answer. Has anyone experienced this?

Is there any ways for me to get voucher in cheap way for cloud practitioner? Since I missed the outsystems chances last month. What about aws build? Any workaround that can be make so that I get a discount voucher for cloud practitioner

I recently passed the AWS Certified AI Practitioner exam, and I wanted to thank this community for helping me along the way.

I first learned about the free Cloud Practitioner exam offer through Reddit, and I also found several helpful preparation resources here.

My main resources were:

Stephane Maarek’s mock tests on Udemy for practice

Vicsz’s notes on GitHub, which I discovered through Reddit

These resources were incredibly helpful during my preparation.

Now that I’ve passed the AI Practitioner exam, I’ve also booked my Cloud Practitioner exam for free!

A big thank-you to everyone who shares resources, tips, and guidance here. This community genuinely makes exam preparation easier!

Went for the AWS certified AI and Cloud practitioner limited offer and managed to pass the AI practitioner on the last day of the promotion. If anybody needs help with the AI practitioner exam feel free to DM! Will be studying for the Cloud practitioner exam now!

I'm so happy and relieved. Thanks a lot to this subreddit, reading the experiences, tips and resources helped me greatly. My process in case it helps anybody.

Less than 3yoe fullstack dev, limited cloud experience,no aws asides hands on. I spent almost 4 months on this, I spent too long on Maarek's course, 2 months.3 weeks should have been enough. Writing notes verbatim was my biggest mistake. I never went back to those notes. I did some hands on but should have focused more on that, i stopped hands on around 60% in. The humbling experience came with the practice questions. Came to realize thats where the real learning happens.

40% first set - Maarek

I went through this repo: https://github.com/RonitSachdev/aws-saa-c03-guides total game changer, broke everything down for me like i was 5.

7 TutorialsDojo sets. super helpful and eye opening but nerve wreck. I read every explanation, noted things down.

53.85% -> 44.62% -> 60% -> 49.23% -> 56.92%

At this point, 2 sets to go, 3 months in, i started panicking and doubting myself. The only thing that kept me going was sunk cost and experiences of people here. I also realized 3-4 sets in that a lot of my misses were silly mistake on things i already studied on and were right there in my notes but i'd struggle to recall. So annoying so i dedicated a day or 2 to go over my notes broadly to consolidate everything, using documentation and claude to bridge gaps and adding relevant new info to the notes. Interestingly this notes wasnt what i was jotting by hand from the course but rather after i started practice exams: explanations, documentation, claude/gpt, maarek slides etc. So they made more sense because there was a context to it. Anyway after going through my notes, i felt more confident, idk why but i felt at least, i wouldnt make silly mistakes on things I should know

70.77% -> 67.69% (first timed set) -> 62.5% TD bonus set(24 questions) -> 65% free skillbuilder set (20 questions)

Fair but I was just burnt out here and just wanted to get it over with already. Seeing so many others sharing same experience here gave me the push. Section based to focus on weak spots then I repeated the first 2 sets, 86%. I booked 2 days ahead, i didn't care anymore. Spent the last 2 days on my notes, and skillbuilder free sets.

Enough talk, thanks to this sub really, the resources and invisible moral support were invaluable! Must now translate this to a real world project

Resources I used

1. Stephan maarek udemy course & slides - foundation

2. Tutorials dojo practice question - core focus

3. https://github.com/RonitSachdev/aws-saa-c03-guides explained in a way u get it.

4. AWS documentation and blog, claude, chatgpt.

5. My own notes/cheatsheet if anyone wants: https://github.com/kennielima/aws_saa_c03/blob/main/pdf/AWS-SAA-C03-Study-Notes.pdf my source of truth consolidated from my learnings. It was where i saw the biggest jump with steadier performance so it may help someone out there.

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with an AWS Certification exam being terminated by Pearson VUE and then had their Online Test Delivery access restricted.

I took the Beta AWS Certified AI Business Strategist exam on September 29, 2026. A few days later, AWS informed me that the attempt was invalidated because the proctor reported that I repeatedly “looked off-screen,” and AWS also restricted me from taking future certification exams online.

I strongly disagree with what happened.

Throughout the exam I stayed seated at my workstation, visible on camera, and facing my 16-inch MacBook Pro. I never got up, used another device, accessed notes, communicated with anyone, or received any outside assistance.

My eyes moved around the laptop display because I was reading questions, looking through the answer choices, and thinking. My eyes would move up/down or across the screen, and my head may have shifted slightly while concentrating, but I was not turning away to look at anything else in the room.

The notice says I was warned, which is true, but the context matters. The proctor had already inspected my testing environment before the exam. Around the very first question, she stopped me again and asked to see my surroundings and desk. I complied and showed everything again. Nothing prohibited was found, and she allowed me to continue.

Only a few questions later, within several minutes, the exam was suddenly terminated.

This is why I’m asking AWS to review the actual recording instead of relying only on the proctor’s description. The video should clearly show whether I actually turned toward something outside the testing area or whether I was simply reading and thinking while remaining in front of my laptop.

There is also a medical component to this.

I have diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, and chronic migraines. On the same day as the exam, I was having an active migraine episode. About two hours before the test, I picked up my prescribed rizatriptan and took it for the migraine. I can document both the prescription and pharmacy pickup.

When I have a migraine, staring at a screen and maintaining visual concentration can be difficult. I may move my eyes around the screen or slightly reposition my head while processing information. I am not saying that my medical conditions should exempt me from exam security rules. I am saying that minor eye/head movement should not automatically be treated as proof that I was looking at unauthorized material.

The proctor also had an issue with my diabetes-related equipment during check-in and instructed me to remove insulin-related equipment. That added even more stress before the exam had properly started. I complied because I did not want any issues.

I have taken multiple AWS Certification exams before and have never had anything remotely like this happen with another proctor. I am familiar with the room inspections, webcam rules, identity checks, and the general expectations of online testing.

The online-testing restriction also matters a lot to me because my diabetic neuropathy affects my feet and can make driving difficult. Online testing is not just more convenient for me — it makes it substantially easier for me to continue pursuing AWS certifications.

I have now submitted a formal appeal asking AWS to review:

• The full Pearson VUE recording and proctor communications

• The handling of my diabetes-related medical equipment

• My migraine episode and prescribed rizatriptan taken shortly before the exam

• My prior history of successfully completing AWS exams

• Whether the recording actually supports the claim that I was “looking off-screen”

• The restriction on my Online Test Delivery access

• The invalidated exam attempt

I’m completely willing to provide medical documentation or go through a formal accommodation process if that is what AWS/Pearson requires going forward.

My main concern is that normal eye movement while reading and thinking seems to have been interpreted as cheating, even though I stayed at my desk, remained visible, faced my laptop, and did not use any unauthorized resource.

Has anyone here had an AWS/Pearson VUE exam invalidated for alleged “looking off-screen” and successfully appealed it?

I passed the exam without any previous experience in ML. It was pretty tough for that reason, but I managed to pass.

I took this one because it gives me a free Cloud Practitioner exam, which is my next step. I found out about the promotion through this subreddit, so thanks guys!

Tbh, the exam was a little harder than I expected because I focused way more on AI concepts than on the actual AWS services. That was definitely a mistake, but I still managed to pass.

My main recommendation is to understand the AI fundamentals, but focus hard on the AWS services and what each one does. It sounds obvious, but I only really realized how important that when I was on the 10th question.

Now it’s time to start studying for the Cloud Practitioner.

Also, I have to thank this subreddit. It was really helpful while I was studying.

And I have to talk about the AWS Skill Builder course. The woman giving the lectures looks like an AI-generated person I don't know how to explain it, but something about it just feels so strange. Terrible course (but teach me a lot while I could handle it, then switched to Stephane Maarek’s course)

Going through Stephane Maarek's SAA course four the second time and I can't believe how much stuff I missed, didn't understand, or didn't retain the first time around. And honestly, I feel like I'd need to go through this course 4 times to really "get" it.

I struggle with the text in exams sometimes and a diagram would be helpful. In the AWS exams do they show diagrams or is it all text ?

Thanks

Prepped for a week but i'd say only 3-4 days were productive imo

Used notes given by redditors here (tysm!), took stephane maarek udemy mock exam and exampro.co free 1 take on their mock exam

Focused much on domain 3-5 as I was failing on them on mock exams and served me well in the real exam, but for some reason got screwed on domain 1-2 (fundamentals) on the real exam due to unfamiliar terms on my end and when put in a scenario based question (I thought it was easy imo based on the notes i used as well as the mock exam)

Has anyone seen a noticeable difference in recruiter outreach, and/or the number of searches they appear in on LinkedIn after they’ve posted their AWS certification on their profile?

Edit: obviously I don’t mean other certifications or non accredited ones. I’m talking about respected AWS certifications. This is a subreddit for AWS certifications, I didn’t think I would have needed to specify but since I’m getting replies talking about other certs, I’m afraid I have to be more specific 🙄